View Alert

Statewide occupation search

Sort your search results or select and compare details of two occupations. Find out if an occupation is in demand or not in demand in your local area, at Learn about an occupation.

Print

Advertising Sales Agents

Sell or solicit advertising space, time, or media in publications, signage, TV, radio, or Internet establishments or public spaces.
  • Summary

  • Details

  • Work Activities

    • Identify new advertising markets, and propose products to serve them.
    • Maintain assigned account bases while developing new accounts.
    • Arrange for commercial taping sessions, and accompany clients to sessions.
    • Write sales outlines for use by staff.
    • Prepare and deliver sales presentations to new and existing customers to sell new advertising programs and to protect and increase existing advertising.
    • Determine advertising medium to be used, and prepare sample advertisements within the selected medium for presentation to customers.
    • Write copy as part of layout.
    • Obtain and study information about clients' products, needs, problems, advertising history, and business practices to offer effective sales presentations and appropriate product assistance.
    • Maintain assigned account bases while developing new accounts.
    • Attend sales meetings, industry trade shows, and training seminars to gather information, promote products, expand network of contacts, and increase knowledge.
    • Arrange for commercial taping sessions, and accompany clients to sessions.
    • Deliver advertising or illustration proofs to customers for approval.
    • Draw up contracts for advertising work, and collect payments due.
    • Explain to customers how specific types of advertising will help promote their products or services in the most effective way possible.
    • Consult with company officials, sales departments, and advertising agencies to develop promotional plans.
    • Gather all relevant material for bid processes, and coordinate bidding and contract approval.
    • Attend sales meetings, industry trade shows, and training seminars to gather information, promote products, expand network of contacts, and increase knowledge.
    • Prepare and deliver sales presentations to new and existing customers to sell new advertising programs and to protect and increase existing advertising.
    • Draw up contracts for advertising work, and collect payments due.
    • Provide clients with estimates of the costs of advertising products or services.
    • Recommend appropriate sizes and formats for advertising, depending on medium used.
    • Determine advertising medium to be used, and prepare sample advertisements within the selected medium for presentation to customers.
    • Prepare promotional plans, sales literature, media kits, and sales contracts, using computer.
    • Inform customers of available options for advertisement artwork, and provide samples.
    • Obtain and study information about clients' products, needs, problems, advertising history, and business practices to offer effective sales presentations and appropriate product assistance.
    • Prepare promotional plans, sales literature, media kits, and sales contracts, using computer.
    • Process all correspondence and paperwork related to accounts.
    • Locate and contact potential clients to offer advertising services.
    • Gather all relevant material for bid processes, and coordinate bidding and contract approval.
    • Locate and contact potential clients to offer advertising services.
    • Inform customers of available options for advertisement artwork, and provide samples.

    Skills

    • Complex Problem Solving
      • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
    • Technology Design
      • Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
    • Science
      • Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
    • Learning Strategies
      • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
    • Repairing
      • Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
    • Judgment and Decision Making
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
    • Coordination
      • Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
    • Programming
      • Writing computer programs.
    • Systems Analysis
      • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
    • Instructing
      • Teaching people how to do something.
    • Operation and Control
      • Using equipment or systems.
    • Troubleshooting
      • Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
    • Persuasion
      • Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
    • Speaking
      • Talking to others.
    • Monitoring
      • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
    • Systems Evaluation
      • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
    • Time Management
      • Managing your time and the time of other people.
    • Service Orientation
      • Looking for ways to help people.
    • Writing
      • Writing things for co-workers or customers.
    • Mathematics
      • Using math to solve problems.
    • Active Learning
      • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
    • Social Perceptiveness
      • Understanding people's reactions.
    • Active Listening
      • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
    • Reading Comprehension
      • Reading work-related information.
    • Equipment Maintenance
      • Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
    • Critical Thinking
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
    • Management of Personnel Resources
      • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
    • Management of Financial Resources
      • Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
    • Operations Monitoring
      • Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
    • Installation
      • Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
    • Management of Material Resources
      • Managing equipment and materials.
    • Equipment Selection
      • Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
    • Negotiation
      • Bringing people together to solve differences.
    • Quality Control Analysis
      • Testing how well a product or service works.
    • Operations Analysis
      • Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

    Abilities

    • Auditory Attention
      • Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
    • Written Expression
      • Communicating by writing.
    • Mathematical Reasoning
      • Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
    • Gross Body Equilibrium
      • Keeping your balance or staying upright.
    • Deductive Reasoning
      • Using rules to solve problems.
    • Written Comprehension
      • Reading and understanding what is written.
    • Hearing Sensitivity
      • Telling the difference between sounds.
    • Control Precision
      • Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
    • Inductive Reasoning
      • Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
    • Oral Comprehension
      • Listening and understanding what people say.
    • Explosive Strength
      • Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
    • Dynamic Strength
      • Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
    • Oral Expression
      • Communicating by speaking.
    • Problem Sensitivity
      • Noticing when problems happen.
    • Peripheral Vision
      • Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
    • Stamina
      • Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
    • Depth Perception
      • Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
    • Perceptual Speed
      • Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
    • Visualization
      • Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
    • Night Vision
      • Seeing at night or under low light.
    • Response Orientation
      • Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
    • Time Sharing
      • Doing two or more things at the same time.
    • Visual Color Discrimination
      • Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
    • Fluency of Ideas
      • Coming up with lots of ideas.
    • Static Strength
      • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
    • Selective Attention
      • Paying attention to something without being distracted.
    • Wrist-Finger Speed
      • Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
    • Speech Recognition
      • Recognizing spoken words.
    • Category Flexibility
      • Grouping things in different ways.
    • Reaction Time
      • Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
    • Extent Flexibility
      • Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
    • Gross Body Coordination
      • Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
    • Speed of Closure
      • Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
    • Manual Dexterity
      • Holding or moving items with your hands.
    • Rate Control
      • Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
    • Speech Clarity
      • Speaking clearly.
    • Far Vision
      • Seeing details that are far away.
    • Glare Sensitivity
      • Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
    • Arm-Hand Steadiness
      • Keeping your arm or hand steady.
    • Flexibility of Closure
      • Seeing hidden patterns.
    • Originality
      • Creating new and original ideas.
    • Multilimb Coordination
      • Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
    • Finger Dexterity
      • Putting together small parts with your fingers.
    • Dynamic Flexibility
      • Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
    • Speed of Limb Movement
      • Quickly moving your arms and legs.
    • Number Facility
      • Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
    • Memorization
      • Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
    • Information Ordering
      • Ordering or arranging things.
    • Trunk Strength
      • Using your lower back and stomach.
    • Sound Localization
      • Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
    • Near Vision
      • Seeing details up close.
    • Spatial Orientation
      • Knowing where things are around you.

    Knowledge

    • Law and Government
      • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
    • History and Archeology
      • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
    • Sociology and Anthropology
      • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
    • Economics and Accounting
      • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
    • Therapy and Counseling
      • Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
    • Personnel and Human Resources
      • Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
    • Psychology
      • Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
    • Public Safety and Security
      • Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
    • Biology
      • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
    • Foreign Language
      • Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
    • Chemistry
      • Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
    • Communications and Media
      • Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
    • Administrative
      • Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
    • Customer and Personal Service
      • Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
    • Physics
      • Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
    • Computers and Electronics
      • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
    • English Language
      • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
    • Education and Training
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
    • Production and Processing
      • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
    • Mechanical
      • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
    • Telecommunications
      • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
    • Transportation
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
    • Medicine and Dentistry
      • Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
    • Administration and Management
      • Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
    • Philosophy and Theology
      • Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
    • Geography
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
    • Engineering and Technology
      • Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
    • Design
      • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
    • Mathematics
      • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
    • Food Production
      • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
    • Sales and Marketing
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
    • Building and Construction
      • Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
    • Fine Arts
      • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

    Education

    Education
    High school diploma or equivalent
    Work Experience
    No work experience
    Training
    1 to 12 months on-the-job training

    Pay

    Washington Annual Salary
    75260/yr
    Washington Hourly Wage
    36.19/hr

    Washington Employment Trends

    Currently Employed
    3,940
    Yearly Projected Openings
    500

    Personality

    Enterprising: People interested in this work like activities that include leading, making decisions, and business. They do well at jobs that need:
    • Attention to Detail
    • Initiative
    • Persistence
    • Integrity
    • Achievement/Effort
    • Dependability

    Tools

    • Desktop computers
    • Notebook computers
    • Personal computers
    • Personal digital assistant PDAs or organizers
    • Special purpose telephones
    • Tablet computers

    Technology

    • Calendar and scheduling software
    • Customer relationship management CRM software
    • Data base user interface and query software
    • Desktop publishing software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Enterprise resource planning ERP software
    • Graphics or photo imaging software
    • Internet browser software
    • Office suite software
    • Presentation software
    • Sales and marketing software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Word processing software